I hadn't planned on re-reading all three of the Penryn books, but I should have known better; I've never been able to just re-read one book in a series without wanting to re-read them all.

This one stands up exactly as well as it did the first time around. It's good, but not awesome, and of course, the whole science fiction angle doesn't score points with me, as it's just not my jam. Still, the angel mythology remains compelling.

girlinthepages

Written on Mar 15, 2014

I just finished this book nearly and hour ago, and I already don’t know what I’m going to do with myself while I wait for the next book in the series to be released (in over a year)! For those who loved the post-apocalyptic world of Angelfall, the biblical-based angel mythology, and the honesty and agency of Penryn’s character, you will not be disappointed. Susan Ee has officially written my favorite post-apocalyptic, dystopian, YA fantasy series, with a cast of characters who all hold their own and a host of angel antagonists whose motives are wonderfully complex.

If you read and loved Angelfall, and are shipping Penryn and Raffe so hard (like me), then you might find the first 80% of this book to drag. It suffers from what I like to call “New Moon” syndrome, as it’s the second book of a series during which the male lead is largely absent. Yet Penryn is such a practical and resilient character that she doesn’t spend a colossal amount of time dwelling on this fact, and the plot carries a quick pace, unwinding many of the mysteries presented in the first book, as Penryn continues to fight her way through and keep her family safe from the angel and demon ravaged Bay Area (which I mentioned in my review of Angelfall made me delightedly happy, since it’s an area of California that usually doesn’t get used for settings much in novels). In fact, as much as I love the idea of Penryn and Raffe together, she’s such a bold and resourceful character that I find myself cheering for her whether she’s alone or with him, and if it came down to a battle-of-book-characters I think she could fight Katniss Everdeen and give her a series run for her money.

World After also presents engaging new plot points that set up nicely for a longer series, such as the fate of the mutated children like Paige, the idea of a “generated” apocalypse, the divisions of the loyalties of the angels, as well as pulling interesting concepts from the Bible, such as the idea of Judgement Day, the specific plagues to the earth during the apocalypse, and the interpretation of Nephilim. As a Religious Studies major, I majorly nerded out over Ee’s seamless integration of biblical themes in her world building, and she manages to make her angel-ridden world make sense, rather than taking the basic concept of seraphim and completely rewriting their biblical history.

As I mentioned earlier, Ee writes a stunning cast of multi-dimensional characters, and each one poses deeper questions for the reader. Paige’s mother’s schizophrenia is worse in this book, but despite her paranoia she usually has the best survival instincts and the most loyalty to her daughters, questioning how easily society disregards the contribution or mental/emotional capacity of those with mental illness. Paige is a mutilated, morphed shadow of her old self (as is Clara) who is loyal to her family, yet her family has trouble accepting her after undergoing such physical changes. Penryn herself is by no means perfect, and she is often placed in situations where she must do a cost-benefit analysis of what course of action to take: to save her family or save dozens of victims. She’s not inherently selfless nor apathetic, and while her decisions can go either way, her mental struggle is very real, and the situations she’s placed in have the reader questioning what they would do if they were standing right alongside her. Other topics are introduced for the reader’s consideration as well, such as Stockholm Syndrome, politics, military force, class status (as it mostly disappears in the face of the end of the world), the desperation of the human condition, and the testing of family bonds and acceptance in the face of change.

I have to allow myself a moment to completely fan-girl over Penryn and Raffe though (forgive me). Despite his archangel status and her human status, they manage to hold their own with each other, and it never feels like one is pathetically “pining” after the other or subordinate to the other. Yes, they both have moments of emotion, but their vulnerability is real rather than self-depreciating, and their dynamic is balanced, as they have both saved each other’s lives multiple times (who knew angels couldn’t swim?). Raffe is witty and sarcastic, but also has a deep sense of duty and a clear well of emotion due to the trauma he’s endured since the start of the series, and his soul-crushing experiences serve to humanize him, rather than make him some unattainable goal for Penryn. The bond they share through Raffe’s sword is especially intriguing, as it turns out it is a rather sentient being, receptive to the emotions of its owner, and can function much like a pensive. I’m rooting for Penryn and Raffe not because they’re a star-crossed YA couple, but because they defy so many of the YA couple stereotypes and their character development builds off of one another.

If you can handle dystopian fiction with a hint of horror and a touch of gore, I highly highly recommend this series. If you want well-rounded main AND peripheral characters, a breathtaking world of a ravaged Bay Area, a female protagonist with determination and agency, and a love story that develops slowly, deliciously, and realistically (rather than hitting you over the head with it), pick up this series now- you won’t be disappointed.

Read this review and others on my blog

lizarodz

Written on Jan 13, 2014

4.5 Stars

Like the rest of the world I LOVED Angelfall. It took forever to get book two, and unlike it usually happens to me with sequels, I couldn’t wait to read World After. It was not as good as its predecessor, but good nonetheless.

Penryn is still our kick-ass hero. Sorry, but there is no better way to describe her. She is loyal, stubborn, strong, fearless, smart, caring; in short, she’s awesome. After she comes back from the dead (almost literary), she is trying to reconcile her past with the crude reality of the world after the angel invasion and with Paige has become. Nothing is getting easier for anyone, but we learned a lot about angel politics, crazy scientists, Paige, and future plans.

Raffe (insert *sigh* here) is one hot angel. He’s loyal to Penryn (the only one on his side) and trying to find out what the heck happen with the rest of the angels, while still wearing demon wings. I think my disappointment with World After strives from the fact that Raffe and Penryn were NOT together for most of the book. It seems like once they were (maybe after 2/3rd?) the story became so much better.

The chemistry between Penryn and Raffe is absolutely amazing! Even if it is forbidden for an angel and a human to be together, and they are fully conscious of the fact, they can’t help what they feel. I hope that the next books have more time of them together.

The characterization is great. I love Dee and Dum, and their reliability to Penryn. Penryn’s mom is still crazy (there’s no cure for her kind of crazy!), but she’s still smart and her survival skills are uncanny; also she tries to keep her daughters safe the only way she knows how.

The plot and world building of this book is outstanding. You don’t know what to expect or when, it’s in constant horrific motion. This book is not for the faint of heart as the angels are even more ruthless and the mad science experiments are getting crazier by the minute. The writing is impeccable and easy to read (even when it’s not easy to digest what’s actually happening!).

It seems like Penryn & the End of Days will be a five book series, and of course it will take years for us to know the ending, but I wish the best for Penryn, Raffe and the rest of the World After. I can just hope that the next book won’t take two years to be published.

Some quotes for you:

“I look up to say something but he puts his finger to my lips and whispers, “Don’t talk. You’ll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.”

“It is painful to see that people prefer a bad guy who looks like an angel to a good guy who looks like a
demon.”

“I kick him in the face point blank with my high heel.
He wasn't expecting that.
The Angel flies back off the stage.
"It really is you,"says Raffe.”

“My only thought is that I am not going to end up truly dead this time in Raffe’s arms. I am not going to be one more wound on his soul.”

“He glares at me. "I've had to watch you die once, isn't that enough?"
"All you have to do is make sure it doesn't happen again." I give him a sunny smile. "Simple."
"The only thing simple is you. Stubborn little..." His grumbles fades to a point where I can't hear them, but I suspect they're not compliments.”

About the cover: This one is not as pretty as Angelfall, but then again, these are Raffe’s new wings. Nothing is pretty in the World After.

KitsuneBae

Written on Jan 1, 2014

This post first appeared on Thoughts and Pens.

As you probably know, I am greatly enthralled with Angelfall’s greatness that I hastened to read World After immediately. It was an impulsive action that I regretted immediately because I didn’t love this book as much as the first book. Perhaps my emotions were still unstable to feel anything for World After. Or maybe, it was because a large portion of World After became something out of your generic dystopian story.

The plot seemed too long-winded with Penryn and her family trying to survive while living under Obi’s command. There was a lot of running and chasing and hiding that it became tiring. Good thing that it still managed to stay afloat by addressing some of the immediate questions in Angelfall. Things got darker as some hideous revelations came out. Some of the scenes became gorier. But it felt like, it just maintained the whole story to provide a bridge for book 3 and it didn’t really offer anything mindblowing unless you count what happened in the end.

In World After, we will see a lot of Penryn coming to terms with Paige’s hideousness, desperately suppressing her feelings for Raffe and trying to protect her family. Though I admire her unwavering streak for heroism, I am undeniably annoyed with her futile attempts to develop her combat prowess further. Raffe’s sword gave her a lot of opportunity to learn but she kind of failed. Most of the time, it was Paige or her mother or Cara who came to get her out of tight situations. I’ve seen so little of her badassery in this book.

On the contrary, my disappointment with Penryn didn’t extend to Paige and her mother. I got to know Paige more and how my heart ached for her…for what she went through. But despite all the things that were done to her, she’s showing more balls than her sister. Bravo, little one! The same can be said for their mother. In here, I found myself warming up to the paranoid schizophrenic. Yes, she’s crazy…creepy and all that but I just adore her survival instincts and her devotion to Paige and Penryn. In her own manic way, she showed the world how it is to be a kick ass mom.

As for Raffe, he’s still amazing as ever even if he joined the game really late. I love his sarcastic humor, I love how he steadfastly uphold his millennia old principles even if it’s driving him mad silently. I know he wants to be with Penryn but his head and iron will wouldn’t let him. It would be interesting, perhaps mindblowing, to see the moment when he gives in to Penryn’s allure. Bahahahaha.

Overall, World After proved to be a fitting sequel for Angelfall despite its sluggish pace and so little presence of our seraphic warrior. The ending was absolutely awesome and it perfectly set the stage for more electrifying things to come in Book 3. I hope Susan Ee would be considerate enough to release it this year.

Judgment Day is near.

reveriesociety_

Written on Dec 9, 2013

I really would have liked to see more Raffe at the beginning, but the book was very good and left me satisfied enough =D

Ashley

Written on Nov 21, 2013

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

I need to start out with a quote from another reviewer, because they said it perfectly:

"75% Meh and 25% AWESOMENESS"
—MP "Iheartbooks"

This is is 100% accurate.

I was bored for the first 75% of World After. That large portion of the story reads very much like a filler book. There's not a lot happening. There's just traveling, moving back and forth, and an overall sense of, "What do we do now?" A couple plot pieces do get moved around the board, but super slowly over that 75%. And to top it off, we get no Raffe.

I'm sure most people will agree with me when I say that Raffe made me fall in love with Angelfall. Yes Penryn is also a fabulous character, but Raffe and Penryn together were EXCITING, CHEMISTRY, FANTASTICAL. All those great adjectives (and a noun.. whatever). Take Raffe out of the picture for 75% of the book, and it's a lot less exciting. One of my pet peeves if when you have a romance (or in this case an "almost romance") then the love interest gets jerked out of the story in book 2 only to reappear at the end. I was devastated to see World After fall victim to that method.

When things finally do turn around in the last 25%, they are pretty awesome! All the great memories of Angelfall's epicness came flooding back. Suddenly things are INTENSE, there are epic BATTLES that feel super important, there are crazy angel SWORD things going on. And, of course, Raffe FINALLY makes an appearance.

The last 25% of World After finally lived up to the awesomeness of Angelfall, but I'm really sad to say that the first 75% was majorly lacking. I just don't feel like the first 75% had any of the same qualities that Angelfall had. It didn't have Raffe's playful character. It didn't have the same sense of urgency or intensity. It didn't feel.... epic.

The end is awesome, so definitely hold out until that point! Susan Ee did a great job getting me super pumped for book 3! World After ends on a great note and opens up some really exciting possibilities. I'm just still pretty massively disappointed that the first 75% flopped. :(

jnikkir

Written on Nov 20, 2013

This review can also be found at my blog, There were books involved...

-----------------------------

Spoiler Warning: Proceed with caution if you haven't read Angelfall, Book 1 of Penryn and the End of Days. Better yet, just go read Angelfall, then come back! I'll wait, I promise! ;)

This series is so hard for me to talk about coherently. A couple weeks before reading World After, I decided to reread Angelfall, with the intention of writing a review that could precede this review (because the first time I read Angelfall was before I started blogging). Well, that didn't end up quite the way I intended. After re-reading it, I was even more convinced that I just wouldn't be able to write a coherent review for it -- unless I wanted that review to consist solely of me keysmashing over the characters' awesomeness and flailing over how much I was dying to read the sequel. Because if you've read Angelfall, you'll know that the ending is... Gah. I can't talk about it. It was a killer ending.

That said, I am going to try to write some coherent thoughts about World After. ...Try. Here goes.

One thing I loved about World After, right off the bat, was where it started in the story. So many series tend to leave some stretch of time between the books, and pick up days, weeks, or months after the end of the previous book. But I adore series where one book just flows seamlessly into the next -- and this was the case with World After. It picks up exactly where we left off in Angelfall, with Penryn paralyzed, apparently dead, being whisked away from Raffe after he returned her to her mother at the end of Book 1. THANK HEAVENS Susan Ee decided to pick up from this point, because the wait between these two books was torture to begin with, and I needed to know exactly what happened after that point, not days or even just hours later.

And true to form, right from the very beginning, World After is a whirlwind ride, packed with action and tension and omg-what-is-going-on moments that kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire book. There was never a moment where things slowed down. And even though it's longer than Angelfall, to me it felt shorter, because it was just so jam-packed with Important Things Happening.

Filler? What filler? You'll find no unnecessary information here. This is a filler-free-zone, and it is glorious.

And even though the book is absolutely packed with action, the character development continues to be stellar. Balancing action and character development is something I think Susan Ee excels at, beyond so many other authors I've read. Sometimes there's a divide between the "action scenes", and slower character-driven scenes. But in the Penryn series, it is all important, and we learn so much about the characters, especially during those tense and action-packed moments.

And speaking of learning more about the characters... Penryn has to be one of my favorite female characters right now, because she is just so fierce and brave and loyal -- but above all else she's real. She gets scared, and she has flaws and insecurities, but she never lets those get in her way when she has more important things to focus on. And she's a character whose romantic relationship does not define her. We've all seen tough female characters who, once a guy comes into the picture, he's all she can think about, to the point where she loses her focus on things that mattered to her before. Penryn is the exact opposite of this. She and Raffe are fantastic together and they make a seriously kickass team, but Penryn knows that she has other important responsibilities that might tear them apart. She can't be fawning over him or pining for him if she wants to help her family. She never loses sight of this, and it's just so fantastic to see. Penryn is also a character I love because she is not a static character. She doesn't just react the same way to the things that happen to her - she grows and learns and adapts to absolutely everything. Ugh, I just love her.

And as for Raffe... Well, admittedly, there's a lot less Raffe in this book than there was in Angelfall -- but weirdly enough, I feel like we learn a lot more about him... possibly because he's not present. Remember Raffe's sword, and how he said it was kind of sentient in Angelfall? Well, thanks to that sword, Penryn ends up seeing a lot of different scenes from Raffe's life, both before and after they met. These scenes are fan-freaking-tastic, and even though Raffe wasn't there in the present with Penryn, his presence was constantly felt. His absence also totally made sense with what was going on in the story -- it's certainly not a contrived "conflict" that drives the main couple apart just to add tension. And when they finally are reunited... gah. Let me just say, the wait is totally worth it.

And finally -- the ending to World After is perfect. It's slightly cliffhanger-ish, but not nearly as bad as the end of Angelfall, so you don't need to worry about starting World After if you're scared that it will end on another life-ruiner like last time. ;) It's a great ending. I neeeeeed to know what happens next, but I'm also content to wait. Well... I say "content"... x_x

In conclusion...

This series is a necessity for any fan of YA. It's packed with so much awesomeness I don't even know how it all fits in these short books (well, okay, they're not really that short, but they go by so quickly). My only theory is that Angelfall and World After must be bigger on the inside. It's the only way to explain the amount of Stuff Happening and Characters Developing and Relationships Blossoming and Feels Overflowing. And it's all SO GOOD!

So. If you haven't read the awesomeness that is World After yet, we might need to have words. If you haven't even read the awesomeness that is Angelfall yet... we definitely need to have words. Because seriously, what are you waiting for? Book 2 is out! You can read them back to back! ...Oh man I'm actually really jealous of you now. ;)

neddieb

Written on Nov 19, 2013

I LOVE SUSAN EE... Thank you Susan for writing a series that is so kick ass awesome!!! Unfortunately, Now I have to wait for Book 3 - the agony that I will be going through while awaiting impatiently for Book 3 to be released will be unbearable. I can't wait to see more of Penryn and that beautiful wonderful Archangel Raffe!

Angie

Written on Nov 19, 2013

I had been waiting impatiently for World After, and now that it's here, and I've finished reading it, I'm sad. It wasn't as awesome as Anglefall, but it was still really good. I just need more! There wasn't nearly enough Raffe, and I missed him! Picking up immediately where the first book left off, we follow Penryn as the world continues to go to hell. Literally. She's back with her mom and sister, but things are definitely not the same. She's looked at as some kind of freak, since everyone believed she was dead and resurrected. And her sister Paige is looked at as something dangerous to either be studied or destroyed. Their mom is still...their mom: moments of coherence mixed in with crazed ramblings. So not everything has changed.

I'll start with why I didn't like World After as much as Anglefall. Mostly, it felt like the exact same plot but without Raffe. Once again, Paige has disappeared under Penryn's watch, so Pen must head out and save her. Sure, it's under different circumstances, but it's still the same basic idea. Penryn's quest brings her face to face with dangerous angels....again. Her mom has some brilliant ideas buried under all of her crazy...again. They get captured and make daring escapes...again. Penryn finds her sister and things get super weird...again. However, there's a lot of new and interesting stuff that kept this from feeling like an exact rehashing.

My second favorite part of World After was Raffe's sword, which is now in Penryn's possession. She's the only one who can wield it, but she has absolutely no clue how to effectively use it. Lucky for her, the sword has special properties in order to help her out. That is, after Penryn finally names it. Oh, the name that she chooses! And how she chooses to disguise it! Hilariousness! My favorite part was of course Raffe himself and his reaction to what has been done to his mighty sword. I just love Raffe, and was disappointed that he's really only around for the last quarter or so. But every moment was well worth it!

Of course there's also tons of new information regarding the apocalypse. Needless to say, the worst is yet to come. I really can't say more because of...spoilers! But those weird lab experiments from the end of Anglefall? Totally serve a creepy and nefarious purpose! And little Paige might be a very important piece of the puzzle. World After really was a great sequel, and I cannot wait for more. Especially more Raffe! And hopefully some forbidden romance!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

littleread1

Written on Oct 3, 2013

I am not going to lie, my review may be a little biased just because I've waited SO LONG for the follow up to Angelfall, which is easily my all time favorite YA book, and many days my all time favorite book EVER. When I was notified I was going to get an early copy for review (thank you to the publicist by the way!) I thought I was going to have a panic attack. Seriously, I loaded it on my Kindle and just looked at the cover for like an hour before I started reading. I was NERVOUS. With as much build-up to this, and as long as I waited I was terrified that it wouldn't live up to my expectations.

I had nothing to fear. Well, except for maybe some demon/angles and scorpion monsters. But that is to be expected! ;-) Once again Ee weaves a magical tale of people fighting to maintain their humanity while in a new and terrible world. We get to see more of the daily human interactions, and how people are attempting to organize themselves in the World After. We see the good - people helping people, and the bad - people being selfish, afraid, and downright terrible. It is all so believable and you feel Penryn's struggles right along with her.

At the end of Angelfall, there is a lot of craziness happening, and Penryn and Raffe get separated, with him thinking she is dead. So of course it is a while before they get reunited, and their reunion is perfect. There is more "will they/won't they" in this second installment, because we know more about how they feel for one another. Even now, after having read it, it makes my heart hurt for them both.

Penryn's mom is still just as crazy as ever, and remains one of my favorite side characters. That woman is a looney toon, and yet sometimes seems like she knows more about what is happening to the world than anyone else. It makes me wonder how crazy she actually is, or if she really has some sort of precognition, which given what I think she is seeing, would drive any sane person a little nutty. As before, she plays an integral part in one section of the big finale. And I say one section because there is a split in the story - one where we follow the humans and one where we follow the angels.

I can't say much more without telling you the whole story, so I will say this - World After is one of the best sequels I've ever read. There is certainly no second book slump, and I hope, for all our sakes, that we don't have to wait another 2 years for the next part to the story!